Its a good colour, crystal clear and catching the light with a deep amber brown hue. It makes an elegant first impression with its delicate little tan head. Aroma wise I'm a getting a smoke with ethanol and hints of charcoal embers in a dying fire.
The first sip is smokey with a sweet impression and a little fruitiness. After a few sips all I can think of is wood smoke, smoked pork and barbecues. It slides around on the tongue and has a slightly oily mouthfeel with low carbonation. I start to get hints of burnt caramel sugars and flavours reminiscent of Belgian beers. Cigars spring to mind as a few tobacco notes hit the palate. Suddenly I find myself sitting in a leather chair by a dying fire sipping a peaty whisky, a cigar rests in the silver ashtray next to me and thin wisps of cigar smoke are winding their way towards the ceiling. This beer is highly evocative.
Complements to Invercargill breweries as the smoke level is just right, not too intense. It adds to the impressive complexity of this beer and seems to brings all the other flavours together.
I can imagine pouring this all over a pork shoulder before whacking it in a slow cooker or accompanying a tasting plate of nutty cheeses and quince paste.
Final thought: If Indiana Jones's hat was a beer it would be the Smokin' Bishop. Roguish and intelligent all in the same package.
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